Bunny is the exception.

The Gyr cow, an Indian variety with long ears and a rounded forehead, was a gift from a friend and came already named.

So did the sprawling 300-acre Goochland County farm that the Fishers bought more than two decades ago. "We thought it might be bad luck to change it," Sandy Fisher said.

Brookview Farm, on Dover Road, is a grassy paradise among a handful of eclectic restaurants, winding country roads, white wooden fences, show horses, equestrian stores and -- of course -- huge mansions.

The farm is also one of the many draws to picturesque Manakin-Sabot, part of Goochland that's less a town or village than it is a postal destination. It's about 5 miles west of Short Pump Town Center.

"There's Sabot and there's Manakin," said resident Marian M. Elam. "They kind of put them both together."

Bob Hammond, Goochland's director of planning, said he considers anything in the 23103 ZIP code part of Manakin-Sabot.

Others say Manakin-Sabot is more a state of mind than anything else.

"It's a place where you can come and enjoy the country," said Rossie Fisher, who with her husband shares their farm with about 300 cattle, 300 chickens and an Australian cattle dog named Annie.

On Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Fishers run a farmer's market next to their home, where they sell items ranging from natural honey and root beer to organic beef and free-range eggs. Curious children can catch a glimpse of Bunny, squawk with the chickens and learn about farming.

Along the way, visitors are introduced to a little bit of what Manakin-Sabot has to offer.

"You get a mixture of high-end people and regular old country people," said Ronny Gibbs, who owns Virginia Truck and Trailer and the neighboring Tack Shop on U.S. 250 in Manakin-Sabot.

"A lot have come in here with a pile of money," he said.

There's the $11.5 million mansion called Dover Hall and plenty of other enormous estates just a few miles from recreational places such as Bogeys Sports Park, where you can practice before taking your golf game to nearby Sycamore Creek Golf Course.

Add to that Deep Run Hunt Club, an exclusive club where men have been hunting fox since the early 1930s, and Hermitage Country Club, a private club that has two 18-hole golf layouts (the Manakin course and, of course, the Sabot course), tennis, a pool and clubhouse.

In keeping with the poshness of the neighborhood are some upper-end dining establishments -- the Manakin Grill, The Fox Head Inn and Enzo's Italian Ristorante & Café.

But if Manakin-Sabot is ritzy, it's also country. You can be as down-home as you like at Red Oak Café, a local favorite for French dip sandwiches, quiche and its daily specials.

And then there's the famed Satterwhite's Restaurant, former home of the "mammoth burger," but the restaurant is under new management and no longer serves the giant sandwich. Instead, this breakfast and lunch spot serves up deliciously greasy onions rings, bologna burgers and the "biggest breakfast in town."

At Satterwhite's, diners can even sink their teeth into salt herring, a small fish traditionally cured with salt in barrels.

"Nobody else serves salt herring," manager Bonnie Faulkner said with a chuckle. "But everything here is good. It's country food."

Just don't show up for breakfast in your pajamas. A sign out front says they're not allowed.

. . .

While there is plenty to see in Manakin-Sabot, some of the area's most curious attractions are rooted in the past and can be found only in history books or shared by local history buffs.

Kathleen Cabell, who lives at Union Hill, is the widow of Royal E. Cabell Jr., a prominent attorney, Republican stalwart and the party's 1956 candidate for Virginia's 3rd District seat in the House of Representatives.

Union Hill dates back to the 1770s. Thomas Jefferson sought refuge there, and George Washington was also there.

Cabell recounted a line Jefferson said as he sat in her dining room: "To dine in a dining room that has a curtain alcove presents an awkward situation because you never know who's hiding behind the curtain," she quoted him as saying.

Cabell occasionally opens her home to visitors for historic programs and tours.

And while she and other locals are well-versed on Manakin-Sabot's past, many are uncertain about its future as development threatens to creep west. Houses are popping up for sale all over the area.

Business owner Gibbs said times are changing. He will be moving his trailer business soon and closing the Tack Shop as new homes and businesses go up, he said.

Gibbs, a country boy at heart, said he's going to have a tough time finding the zoning he needs for his business. But he definitely wants to stay in Manakin-Sabot.

"I think it's the nicest place in the country," he said. "It's got economic growth, jobs, and Short Pump Town Center is right down the road."